I’m in the final stages of sprucing up the mask now. Thank you for following along and sorry if my flood of posts is killing anyone’s soul.

1) I used a blowtorch, knife, and boxcutter to SLOWLY and CAREFULLY carve out a little nook in the snout area for my nose. Again, had I known how fast the plastic pooling up in the snout would harden, I would never have let it get so thick. I feel like all mistakes are learning opportunities though. Now “Swirl, baby, swirl” is my plastic-pouring motto for future mask making.

It’s important to note here that I don’t recommend heating the plastic and that I wore a mask while doing it.

2) I also used a boxcutter to cut off the excess plastic on the sides and to cut a slit in the mouth area for breathing.

3) Then I used sandpaper to go through and smooth out everything that would be resting against my face. This was pretty time consuming but important.

4) Then I used the boxcutter to make holes for the elastic bands for the mask. I plan to eventually use nice cinches and straps, but since I’m in a time crunch, I picked up some flesh-colored elastic that will have to do.

5) Once it was more or less ready to wear, I put down a towel and got out my paint set. I used white, black, and red acrylic paint, a basic set of small brushes, and a little bowl of water for keeping the paint smooth.

The plastic had some grime on it from the clay. That’s why it looks a little gnarly.

6) I started by painting the fur of the wolf as I figured that would be the easiest part. I did a bit of gray in the bristly fur parts but largely white.

7) Once that was done, I went in to the detail of the mouth. Just like with the clay process, I worked from the innermost area to the outermost, saving the teeth and gums for last.

9) When it was to a good stopping point, I let it dry in front of a fan overnight. I plan to do a little touch up painting on Saturday and then loop the elastic paint through the holes. I’ll probably use superglue just to make sure the straps stay in place on the mask.

Here is a picture of the finished product:

As for the outfit, the Vargulf (still unnamed until my spoilery next post) is wearing white star pajamas, a grey shirt, black heeled boots, and a green cargo jacket. Luckily, I had all of the elements except for the star pajamas, but I was looking for a new pair of pjs anyway and ordered the similar pair off of Amazon. I also ordered liquid latex for the bloody skin flaps that will be on my face and a white wig. It will need trimming and a little styling with hairspray to get that frizzy, disheveled look, but I think it is pretty solid.

The morning of the convention, I plan to get up early and begin the painstaking process of putting on the mask and applying the ragged, torn flesh and blood around it. Once that is in place, I will put the wig on. We’ll be walking the floor probably for a handful of hours, so I just need to make sure it all stays in place during that time.

Pictures and Hemlock Grove spoilers soon to come! Thanks so much for following along.